16. TCA: EU-UK trade agreement

brexit-fact-base-london — Photo by PX Media/Shutterstock

UK left EU on 31 December 2020
From 1 January 2021, TCA applied and came into force 1 May 2021
- Tariff-free, quota-free UK-EU trade for qualifying goods
- Creates many new trade barriers for goods and services
- TCA does little to remove barriers for services trade
- EU applied its controls to imports from the UK from 1 January 2021
- UK controls on goods imports from EU being introduced in phases in 2024
- UK excluded from EU programmes (eg Erasmus, Horizon)
Windsor Framework refines operation of Northern Ireland Protocol, to be phased in by 2025
First five-year review of the implementation of the TCA in 2026
- Economic benefits from refinement will be small
UK Trade and Business Commission ‘Blueprint for Policymakers’
- 114 recommendations to improve trade relationship
- Evidence-based
Labour’s reset will have small economic benefit compared to cost of Brexit
Major economic benefits would come from rejoining Single Market and/or Customs Union